Standing Tall 1 Standing Tall Marv Siegel
Standing Tall 2 ArtAge supplies books, plays, and materials to older performers around the world. Directors and actors have come to rely on our 30+ years of experience in the field to help them find useful materials and information that makes their productions stimulating, fun, and entertaining. ArtAge s unique program has been featured in Wall Street Journal, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, American Theatre, Time Magazine, Modern Maturity, on CNN, NBC, and in many other media sources. ArtAge is more than a catalog. We also supply information, news, and trends on our top rated website, www.seniortheatre.com. We stay in touch with the field with our very popular enewsletter, Senior Theatre Online. Our President, Bonnie Vorenberg, is asked to speak at conferences and present workshops that supplement her writing and consulting efforts. We re here to help you be successful in Senior Theatre! We help older performers fulfill their theatrical dreams! ArtAge Publications Bonnie L. Vorenberg, President PO Box 19955 Portland OR 97280 503 246 3000 or 800 858 4998 bonniev@seniortheatre.com www.seniortheatre.com
Standing Tall 3 NOTICE Copyright: This play is fully protected under the Copyright Laws of the United States of America, Canada, and all other countries of the Universal Copyright Convention. The laws are specific regarding the piracy of copyrighted materials. Sharing the material with other organizations or persons is prohibited. Unlawful use of a playwrightʹs work deprives the creator of his or her rightful income. Cast Copies: Performance cast copies are required for each actor, director, stage manager, lighting and sound crew leader. Changes to Script: Plays must be performed as written. Any alterations, additions, or deletions to the text must be approved. Permission to Film: Rights to produce, film, or record, in whole or in part, in any medium or in any language, by any group amateur or professional, are fully reserved. Royalty: Royalties are due when you perform the play for any audience, paying or non paying, professional or amateur. This includes readings, cuttings, scenes, and excerpts. The royalty for amateur productions of this show is posted online. It is payable two weeks prior to your production. Contact us for professional rates or other questions. Royalty fees are subject to change. Insert the following paragraph in your programs: Performed with special permission from ArtAge Publications Senior Theatre Resource Center at 800 858 4998, www.seniortheatre.com Copyright 2015
Standing Tall 4 FRED: In his sixties. SHIRLEY: In her sixties. Setting: A living room. There is a telephone. STANDING TALL by Marv Siegel CAST Place A living room. Time The Present. At Rise: Fred bursts into the room with Shirley on his heels. They are wearing bathrobes or pajamas. Shirley is yawning. FRED: (extremely agitated) Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! What are we supposed to do? I don t believe this is happening! SHIRLEY: Fred, you have to calm down! FRED: I can t calm down. How am I supposed to calm down? This is terrible. I knew this was going to happen. I knew it. SHIRLEY: Stop panicking. It s going to be okay. FRED: That s easy for you to say. I knew it. I never should have listened to you. SHIRLEY: Oh now it s my fault?
Standing Tall 5 FRED: Yes it s your fault. It was your idea. I didn t want any part of it. SHIRLEY: What are you talking about? You were the one who said you wanted to try it. FRED: You lured me into it. SHIRLEY: Lured you? We ve been married for thirty eight years. My luring days ended in the 1970 s. FRED: Don t tell me you don t lure. You lure. SHIRLEY: How do I lure? Tell me how I lure. FRED; You paint a picture. You make something seem very enticing and then I fall into the trap. Over and over and over. Remember when you lured me into buying those futon things? They destroyed my back. SHIRLEY: I didn t lure you into buying those. You bought them off the back of a truck at the side of a highway. I wasn t even there. FRED: I don t remember that. SHIRLEY: And I suppose you don t remember the oil painting you bought the same way. FRED: Look at this. Look at how you deflect. All of a sudden we re talking about futons and oil paintings. You lure and you deflect. That s your M.O., lure and deflect. SHIRLEY: You brought up the futons. FRED: Enough about the futons. We have to deal with this situation that you lured me into. I certainly didn t get the stuff I used tonight off the back of a truck. I had never even thought about it till you told me about Herb and Vivian. SHIRLEY: I was talking to you over breakfast. You say I never tell you anything interesting so I told you something interesting.
Standing Tall 6 FRED: Well you made it sound way more interesting than you should have. You should have just stated the facts instead of putting in all that window dressing. SHIRLEY: What am I, the six o clock news? We were holding a conversation. FRED: But you didn t have to paint a picture of two wild kids on a fling. Herb is sixty three. You should have painted a picture of two senior citizens bouncing and jiggling in all the wrong places. That would have ended all thoughts of following in their footsteps. SHIRLEY: I didn t paint a picture of wild kids. I painted a picture of love continuing despite our age. FRED: Love could have continued just fine without dabbling in the (searching) supernatural. SHIRLEY: Supernatural? What on earth are you talking about? FRED: Sometimes medical science goes to places better left untouched. And now I m the Frankenstein monster and you re (searching) Doctor Frankenstein. SHIRLEY: Oh no, I m not taking responsibility for this. We both agreed. It was a joint venture. (reflecting and bursting into laughter) Ha ha ha ha ha. Get it? A joint venture. FRED: You think this is funny? SHIRLEY: Well actually FRED: Don t you dare! This isn t funny. This is serious and we have to deal with it right now. SHIRLEY: Alright. I have an idea. FRED: Okay, now we re getting somewhere. What s your idea? SHIRLEY: Round two. FRED: (no clue) Round two? (slowly getting it) Round two? Will you just listen to yourself? All you care about is satisfying your own carnal needs.
Standing Tall 7 SHIRLEY: I don t have carnal needs. I m just thinking that maybe a second round will do the trick. FRED: Sure it s easy for you to think that. You don t have to do any work. Dammit Shirley, what the hell is wrong with you? SHIRLEY: What the hell is wrong with me? I m trying to help. It s two in the morning and believe me I d rather be asleep. But if another round solves the problem I m here for you. FRED: (sarcastic) Right. SHIRLEY: Do I have to remind you that you re the one with the problem? FRED: No! (resigned) No, you don t. (looking at his watch) And it s 2:15 to be exact. It s been almost six hours. Let me see the bottle again. SHIRLEY: Why do you need to see the bottle again? The writing s not going to change. FRED: Just let me see it please. (She takes a pill bottle from her pocket and hands it to him. He reads aloud) If your erection lasts for more than four hours, seek medical help. We should have dealt with this two hours ago. SHIRLEY: Two hours ago we were asleep. We fell asleep when we were done. We always fall asleep when we re done. Sometimes before we re done. FRED: But I ve never taken Viagra before. And now I ve had an erection for six hours. SHIRLEY: Well maybe you haven t had an erection for six hours. FRED: What are you saying? SHIRLEY: Maybe your erection went down for a while and then it came back. END OF FREEVIEW You ll want to read and perform this show!